Wolf in Time I: Modern Days
by Toland
Summary: It has been almost 700 years since Lawrence passed away and Holo returned to the wheat. Many things have changed as she now takes form once more. Follow Holo's journey as she tries to adapt to this new environment with the help from a stoic young man named Adam. Rated M for things yet to come. These include violence, references to certain themes etc. You get the point.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

_"I do not want to wake from my dream and discover that I am all alone. I am tired of being alone! I do not want to be cold! I do not want to be lonely!" _

_~Holo_

_Stories about heroes and happy endings are common among the mankind. Stories of hardships, knights and couples worthy of legends are plenty. One such story was the story of a traveling merchant Kraft Lawrence and his companion Holo, the Wise wolf. A harvest deity who wished to return to her homeland in the north. However she wished not to be called a god, and Lawrence never treated her as one._

_Their travels lead them to many places, they encountered and survived many schemes. In the end, they fell in love and settled down. But even the nicest of things come to an end. They managed their bathhouse for a long time. Their love never faded. But time never stops, even for the loveliest of couples. Holo was immortal, Lawrence was not._

_It was inevitable but Holo was still crushed when it happened. Myuri had ran away with Cole long before Lawrence's passing. But this also meant that Holo was alone. She could embark to try and search for her daughter, but in the end decided against it. She was bound to forge her own path._

_And so, the bathhouse called "Spice and Wolf" was closed. No traces of Holo was seen. It was like she had retreated from the world of man. In truth, she had returned to the wheat. She wished not to hold form as her grief overwhelmed her mind. Centuries passed as she mourned for Lawrence, wishing she could join him some day._

_But she knew it was impossible. But as she tried to take form once more, it turned out she had been without a form for too long. She was stuck. All she could do now was wait to discover the wheat. Were it destroyed or where she released, it mattered not. She would thank that person either way._

_Another couple hundred years passed as she waited. While able to sense her surroundings, she soon realized that the pouch of wheat she inhabited, was hidden. But luck would soon turn to her favor and another one's disfavor. _

_However she would have never expected the world to change in such drastic ways. It was only about seven hundred years at best after all. She would have to rely on her "savior" for her to understand this new world._

_But like most stories, her story was now but a legend, contained in old books that held little value in this new world. She was but a forgotten myth. But like Lawrence had realized. Myths and Legends are not always just stories and forgetting them could cause many surprises._

_This is a story of a stoic young man who happened to discover an old pouch full of wheat. A story than may as well turn into a legend told to kids as a way to teach them._

_But most importantly, this is a story of a Wolf in Time…_


	2. Chapter 1: Wolf and a new world

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Spice and Wolf nor it's characters. I do own the rights to the OC though.

**Chapter 1: Wolf and a new world**

* * *

"_Loneliness is a disease that can lead to death. They might as well be the same thing."_

~Holo

The house was a mess. Sure it had been cheap to buy and the old junk could be sold but it did not lessen the amount of work and time it would take to sort everything.

Adam had bought the house for quite a cheap price. The house itself was fairly old and was full of junk from the past, but mostly the price had dropped because the last owner had died not too long ago. Because it was almost impossible to get a permission to demolish the house due it being built over old ruins, the firm that had received the house had wanted to sell it fast. Adam had been fortunate enough to see the offer to be able to snag the house for himself.

He had been happy. Being able to get rid of his foster "family" was a relief of it's own but now the feeling of loneliness was just different. Before he had felt like an outsider, now he felt utter loneliness. He tried to bury such thoughts under studies and work but every time he got a moment to let his thoughts wonder, he felt alone.

It was for this reason he was currently clearing out the basement of the house. There were everything from old wooden chairs to boxes to old travel trunks from different eras. He needed to wear gloves and a face mask because of the amount of dust in the air. He had learned that the first time he almost choked on the dust. The work this activity provided, helped him to keep his thoughts away from the depressive loneliness he sometimes felt. Now moving a trunk with a name _"Lawrence" _away, he imagined the places the trunk had been. It seemed quite old and he figured it had belonged to one of the previous owners of the house.

The house from what he heard, had belonged to a family named Lawrence for long as the records go. The mentioned family had records going all the way back to the middle ages. Adam had found those records in the basement along with many other books. One of the books had held a record, placing an ancient bathhouse on the spot where the current house was built. The ruins were actually presumed to be the ruins of the bathhouse. The ruins themselves were now a part of the stone building Adam owned.

Apparently the Lawrence family had owned the bathhouse too but the owner had died of old age. His daughter had returned to the bathhouse one day to find it in ruins. A fire had swept through the ancient village, leaving almost nothing intact. As a way to honor her father, the daughter had build a new house on the place of the bathhouse. It was the same house Adam was currently cleaning. The family had repaired it and kept it in condition through the centuries and by some miracle, it had survived the wars without being destroyed. However the latest member of the Lawrence family had died under suspicious circumstances. He was but around thirty years of age but had died to a heart attack. Or that is what Adam had gotten from the records while buying the house. There were no further records about the matter though. It was strange. Not even a coroner's report. Nothing was to tell the actual cause of death. But Adam did not gain anything from investigating the matter.

Once Adam had read all this, he had realized the value of the house and the stuff within it. He no longer wished to clear the junk but to rearrange it. This was when he had found another book. _"Chronicles of the Lawrence family" _was it's name. Unlike the other books, this one described the family's founding. It told how the bathhouse "Spice and Wolf" came to be.

As Adam skimmed through the book, he noticed one key difference. Only this book mentioned a name Holo. Supposedly a wolf deity of harvest that could take human form. Most of the book actually told about the travels of this duo. Adam smiled to himself. Old stories were much more interesting than modern movies or books. He would need to read the entire book later.

"_A lonely merchant meeting the partner of his life by chance. Such a nice story." _Were Adam's thoughts as his mind kept returning to the book. Once again he felt a pang of loneliness strike his heart but he tried to ignore it by returning to work.

Behind the trunk was nothing expect some old wool. It seemed to be coming out of the wall itself. Adam figured that it must have once been a secret stash within the wall. Now it was all but obvious because of the insulation wool. Removing the small piece of wood covering the pocket, Adam found an old pouch filled with wheat grains. While the pouch seemed ancient, the wheat inside is still in pristine condition. Reaching to touch the grains, they felt strangely warm. Maybe there was a heating pipe Adam had missed.

While looking in the bag, Adam suddenly panics as a drop of blood falls into the pouch, silently splashing over the grains. He had apparently cut himself while pulling out the bag. When turning his gaze back to the wheat, the blood was nowhere in sight. Puzzled, Adam decided that it was enough for the day. If he was hallucinating, it was time to give up for the day.

* * *

Adam had managed to clear about a third of the basement before calling it a day. The trunk he had previously found was one of the last things he had sorted. Other things he had found ranged from furniture to women's clothing. Those were useless though as Adam discovered there being a small hole in the back of the clothes. Maybe something acidic had once fallen onto those clothes. Though the most notable thing was the size of the clothing. There were clothing from many eras, from the more middle age styled clothes all the way to the modern clothes, but all of them were the same size and had the hole in the back.

"_Maybe they gathered these for a reason. Maybe not. I'll take them out later." _Adam thought as he moved what he could out of the way. It was clear that the clothes would not sell due to the holes but one could always try to recycle them. They seemed to be pristine, even if they were old.

As Adam merged from the basement, he went to leave the wheat pouch upstairs with the books he had found. He would try to read them all later. The chronicle was written in almost a novel like fashion so he found it quite relaxing to read such a book.

After dropping off the books and the pouch, Adam headed to the kitchen to prepare his evening snack. However his actions were interrupted by a loud thump, coming from his room. Finding is strange as he had left all the books on stable surfaces, Adam went to investigate. What he found was more than little shocking.

There was a young girl, sitting groggily on his bed. The very same bed as he had left the pouch on. She was not facing him so all he could see was her back, but that was not what caught Adam's attention. His eyes were focused on the wolf tail that was slowly swishing back and forth. The white tip combined with the almost orange fur reminded him of a fox's tail. He noted that her hair was the same color as her tail and that she had two presumably wolf ears on top of her head. Both of those ears were directed at his direction.

"I do not mind if you look at me, but I am getting cold. I am also confused of where I am. You wouldn't mind helping me, would you not?" The girl's tone was calm but when she turned to him, she wore a mischievous smile on her face. Her red tinted amber eyes regarded Adam with a hint of suspicion.

"My apologies. I was just surprised to find a stranger on my bed. Naked no less. But I should have a morning gown somewhere here." Adam's calm response took the girl by surprise. It seemed that she had waited him to get all flustered so his lack of reaction probably caught her off guard.

After handing the girl the morning gown, which she accepted with an almost grateful nod, Adam sat down on the chair he kept near his bed. It was actually the chair he used while on his computer.

"So, mind telling me where am I?" The girl asked once more.

"So eager for questions. Yet I do not know your name." Adam shot back, the girl smirked as a response.

"You do not know who I am?"

Adam's mind suddenly fell back to the chronicle. There had been couple of lines that now stuck to his mind.

_"At certain times, Holo will appear in the village in the form of a pretty young woman, and she is always seen as a mid-adolescent. A lovely figure, she has long flowing hair as well as wolf ears and a beautiful dark brown tail with a splash of white at the end." _

Adam now wore a smirk of his own. This seemed to greatly annoy the girl who scowled at him. "Holo. Are you not?"

The girl's scowl deepened but she nodded none the less. "May I ask how you know me?" Adam waved at the pile of books on his desk.

"Not longer than earlier today I read your name off those chronicles. I assume the name Lawrence rings bells?" Holo's head now almost snapped to the books. Her gaze was far more focused than before.

"The name of my former husband. I have not heard that name in a long time. I take that Myuri and Cole continued the bloodline then?" Adam nodded at this, guessing that those were her daughter and the daughter's lover.

"Let me ask you this. What was the last location you were in?" The question seemed a bit random to Holo but she decided to answer it none the less.

"The bathhouse. After my husband passed away, I stayed there for a time before returning to the wheat." Adam nodded before gesturing at the house around them.

"You have not moved from that area then. From the records I have found, this house was built on top of the bathhouse after it had been burnt down by a fire that burned half of the village you were living in. This house was passed on the Lawrence family for generations before the last heir of the family suddenly died. Due to it being on top of old ruins, it was sold cheaply. I happened to buy it and now I am the sole owner of it."

Holo seemed to be thinking. "So the Lawrence family has now been extinguished?"

Adam nodded before answering. "Unfortunately. I was just sorting out the basement when I found that pouch."

Holo's gaze slowly turned back to Adam. She regarded his words for a moment before nodding at something. To him it seemed like she just confirmed some though of she had. "So you were the one who enabled me to take form once more. For that, you have my gratitude. But onto more important matters. Do you have food? Maybe some alcohol too?"

* * *

Adam was currently watching as the food he had planned to last a week on, was disappearing onto the small girl's stomach. To his luck, Holo had sniffed a secret alcohol stash from the basement so he did not need to go buy any, but she was already eating her fifth plate and the second wine bottle. It seemed that the family had a lot of alcohol stored away. The stash the wise wolf had sniffed was only one of many. At least according to her.

"Why such face?" Holo inquired as she took a long gulp of the wooden pint she was using. She had insisted that a wine glass was too small.

"When one loses the stock he planned to last a week to make one meal, it is bound to happen." Adam replied calmly. Holo who could detect lies, could not detect any right now. His lips were nothing but a thin line, the only indication that Adam was unhappy.

"You can get more, can you not?" She inquired with honesty. Adam answered with a wry smile.

"I am no merchant. Nor is it possible to be one anymore. I can manage loss of one week's food but losing more would end in hunger."

"Meaning?" Holo had now furrowed her eyebrows.

"After restocking once, I am out of money." Adam coolly replied. Holo mouthed a silent 'oh' as she gazed back onto her meal. Truth be told she had taken more than she could eat. The modern food being much more filling than she thought.

"I guess I am done then. But why such hospitality?" Adam answered her question with a rare but honest smile. Adam's mouth curled into a slight smile as he went to store the leftovers.

"I am but a guest in your house. It is only natural. After all, you have lived here for centuries now. Me being the owner of the house is nothing but a mere error due to your absence." Holo smiled at his logic but seemed satisfied enough to not tease him. She had a feeling of it not having an effect anyway. He had been completely unmoved by her ears or tails, not mentioning her being naked.

"One can seem calm but it is merely a facade. A mask they wear." It seemed that he had read her thoughts. Usually she was the one to do so, it surprised her. But a this created a sensation within her. One that sparked a wicked grin to form on her face.

Adam raised an eyebrow at her smile. She decided to answer his unspoken question. "The thrill of the hunt gets a wolf's blood pumping. A worthy hunt even more. The little you have shown me, proves that you indeed are a prey worth hunting."

"Are you sure that the hunter is not in fact the hunted?" She was at loss of words. She! Holo the Wise Wolf had no comeback to his words! Her tail swished as she was infuriated. In the end she relented.

"Only time will tell. But I take you would be kind enough to let me stay here?" Adam nodded before pulling out a strange metal colored box. He set it on the table carefully before speaking again.

"Indeed. Not only am I the guest here, but gauging from your reaction, you have not been able to follow the world around you. Understandable if you have been within the wheat for centuries. The box in front of you is a phone. A device we use to communicate instead of letters." Holo was currently pondering if this stoic boy was in fact a descendant of hers and only nodded in response. He seemed to be apt at reading her to an extent while masking some of his emotions completely. He held no reaction to her teasing either.

"No. I am not from your bloodline. I can just read people better than most. It makes people uncomfortable so they tend to keep distance. A good defense mechanism, wouldn't you say?"

It was now confirmed. He must be a wolf or must have been a wolf. She now knew how Lawrence had felt in the beginning of their journey as she had left the poor merchant speechless countless times. It made her smile at him. While the sorrow of her husband's passing had long since dulled into an ache, the pain caused by the fear of loneliness stung even harder than before. In front of her was a person who seemed to hold no fear towards her. Even Lawrence had drawn his knife at first, when seeing her. She had decided to try and befriend this pup. While she was a proud wolf, she was not a fool. Angering Adam would not only lead to problems. She knew nothing of the new world after all. The box called phone proved this thought after all.

"From what I read, you can turn into a wolf. Correct?" Holo could only nod. How much information was in that book? How detailed did it go?

"Forgive me my curiosity. But can you still do so? Given the correct catalysts." Holo pondered this for a moment before she nodded again.

"I think I can. But I wish not to do so." Adam slowly nodded his head. He could understand her unease. So instead of demanding her to do so, he relented with a shrug. Again, this seemed to catch Holo off guard.

"If you thought that I would ask you to change. You would be half correct. But I believe you will reveal your form once you feel comfortable enough. You seem surprised, something wrong?" Adam inquired with a puzzled face. Holo only managed to shake her head in response with an a fake smile plastered on her face.

She had now been caught off guard more times than she wanted to admit. Lawrence had been easy pray. Getting flustered easily, face revealing what he was thinking and being oblivious to the deeper meaning within her words. His reactions had been easy to predict too. Of course this had changed over time, but Adam was different. The only indication of his mood was how his mouth reacted. If he was annoyed, it would be a thin line. If he was happy, it would curl up ever so slightly. He was quite the opposite of Lawrence now as she thought about it. Stoic and good at reading between the lines of her words, Adam was an ideal friend for her. She also wanted him to be one, to not feel lonely again if nothing else.

Adam must have noticed her smile and the guessed the thoughts behind it as he returned her smile with a small twist to his lips. It would take a lot more for him to break that stoic mask, but it was a start. "It's getting late. We can sort out your clothing problem tomorrow. I shall take a blanket and sleep on the couch. You can take my bed." His voice broke Holo out of her thoughts as she nodded almost automatically.

* * *

Adam was in a light slumber on the couch. He always slept lightly, usually because he wasn't able to fall asleep very fast.

He stirred up as he felt a presence enter the room. Usually he would not be able to do so but it was like the mentioned presence wanted to be noticed.

"Adam, are you still awake?" Rang Holo's quiet whisper. She didn't wish to wake him up if he was asleep already.

"I never sleep deeply. I am awake now." Adam answered back, his voice lowered while also keeping the calm tone in it. He could see Holo's red tinted amber eyes, peering at him. Her eyes glew slightly in the dark. Holo noted that he never mentioned her waking him up.

"'Tis cold in there alone. I was hoping that you would accompany me." Her voice betrayed no embarrassment. It had a hint of teasing and mischief in it though. She was taking her revenge on getting caught off guard by him. She was a proud wolf, retaliation was necessary for her pride.

"Very well."

"Plea… Wait, really? Just like that?" Holo asked in astonishment. While Lawrence had indeed slept in the furs with her the first night they met, he had still wanted to sleep on separate beds when it was possible. It was dark but she knew that Adam's eyes held a glint of amusement.

Without another word, Adam got up from the sofa as he stumbled past Holo. He slumped onto the bed before pulling the cover over himself. "Are you coming or will you just stand there? It was cold, was it not?"

Holo blinked owlishly once and then twice. Deciding that her mind was not going to get any major thinking done anymore, she relented as she joined Adam under the covers. She was now wearing one of Adam's pajamas, that she had borrowed. Adam had scooted over as he had felt her join him. He was facing the wall, back turned to Holo but she could tell that he was not asleep yet.

It took time, but Adam's breathing started to calm down. He did stir once more when he felt something fluffy brush his side, but soon realized it was Holo's tail laying on him. She seemed to be asleep so he let her tail be there. It worked as a decent extra blanket too. Knowing better than to think that she was asleep, Adam decided to reward her show of trust. A proud wolf setting her tail like that had to be one after all. His sign was to turn so, that he was now resting on his back. This exposed his torso and his neck.

Closing his eyes once more, Adam sighed in contempt. But a sudden weight on his arm made him open them once more. Holo's eyes were gazing him through the dark with a victorious glint. She was using his arm as a pillow. Giving a sight of defeat, Adam finally managed to drift into the land of sleep. She might have found a worthy opponent, but he still was a foolish male in the end.

And thus the story of these two had officially begun…

* * *

**AN: Huh. It came out better than I expected. Now those who might see Holo acting OOC, please do note that I am not telling every single one of her thoughts. I was actually debating on the POV too. The other option would be purely from Adam's perspective but I thought these was a better style to write this. **

**But anyway, I hope you will enjoy the story to come. Any suggestions, notes, constructive criticism etc are always welcome. I care naught how you deliver em but I do wish to make this a longer series. And of course my other goal is to get this story's Holo as close to the original as possible.**

**That's all for now, Toland out.**


	3. Chapter 2: Wolf and the future's market

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Spice and Wolf nor it's characters. I do own the rights to the OC though.

**Chapter 2: Wolf and the future's market**

"_I am Holo the Wise Wolf. I know that there are things in this world that I do not know and that makes me wise!"_

_~Holo_

Adam woke up to a tickling feeling. Slowly opening his eyes, Adam first notes the tip of Holo's tail that is directly in his vision. The white tip of her tails was the object that was causing the tickling sensation. The owner of that tale was facing away from him, her back turned to Adam as she was still asleep.

Of course she stirred immediately once he tried to move her tail. It was her pride after all, so touching it without her permission was bound to wake up the sleeping wolf. Her soft murmur was the first sign that she woke, informing Adam that it was safe to move. He would have to climb over her after all.

Adam got up without much interference from the wolf as he performed his morning ritual. After freshening up, the stoic boy started working on breakfast. Due to him having one more mouth to feed, he had decided to go for a more filling breakfast. Bacon and eggs should be sufficient for the Wise wolf that was currently residing with him. Not soon after he had started frying the bacon, he heard his guest enter the room. He heard her sniffing before her actual steps. Those were nearly silent, like a thief or a ninja. In this case they were the steps of a predator.

"I smell something good. However I cannot pinpoint what it is. It smells of pork but it has another smell to it too. Like salt but not quite. What are you cooking?" Holo inquired as she opened her eyes. She had closed them as she was sniffing the aromas that had been floating around.

"Indeed. Your nose is as accurate as written. It is bacon. A salted slice of pork that is usually fried. At least nowadays. I take that you never got the chance to taste it?"

"Lawrence always said that bacon was harder to come by than honey preserved peaches. I did ask about it once but the method for making bacon was much different in the past. From what I heard, the salt used before had to be some sort of special salt and it was very hard to come by. It had to come from certain regions that were beyond the seas. So you are correct. I have never tasted it, no matter how much I pestered my past husband about it." Adam nodded at Holo's words. Indeed he heard that bacon was already present in ancient Rome but it was a rare treat anywhere else. Of course having a chance to taste the mentioned meat slice, Holo had her eyes nailed to the pan. She was inching forward slowly until Adam bopped her head with the spatula he was holding. Luckily for her, it had no grease on it.

"Wait till it's done. As the Wise wolf you should know not to touch hot things either." Holo pouted at his words.

"'Tis not fair. I am hungry now."

Adam just gave a chuckle at her words before returning his attention to the frying pan. Of course Holo could not just wait for the bacon to be done, so she was moving around him, sometimes peeking at the pan over his shoulder, her almost having jump to do so and sometimes peeking at it from under his arm. He was a good bit taller than her after all. She was about 160 cm while he was a bit over 183 cm. She glanced at Adam once, her eyes betrayed the agony she was feeling for having to wait and her tail was swishing back and forth quite rapidly.

"Alright, alright! I think they are done anyway." Adam sighed with an amused glint in his eyes. She flashed him a happy smile that revealed her two sharp fangs as her tail wagged happily. Adam just ordered her to go sit by the table as he would prepare a plate for the bacon. Of course he had a hunch that the bacon would not survive until the fried eggs were done, but one could always try.

"Hurry up! It's not nice to leave a lady waiting!" Rang Holo's chirpy voice. Adam sighted over dramatically so that she would hear it, before walking to the table with the plate of bacon on his left had while carrying the eggs on his right. He had to return to the kitchen to fetch his coffee and once he came back, he saw Holo eyeing his plate, having already wolfed her own.

"No."

"Aww, why not? You can't possibly be planning to eat all of that? I can help you..." Holo pleaded. Of course both knew this was an act, Adam wanting to eat his food while also knowing he would probably give some to Holo. Holo just wanted to eat more and knew Adam would give in at some point. As such, they both pulled an act.

"I plan to eat it. All of it. In front of your pleading eyes." Adam answered coldly. But Holo had enough experience to tell that he was not actually that serious.

"You don't have the heart to do that. I can tell." Holo shot back. Her voice the direct opposite of Adam's. It had a tinge of charm and mischief but was mainly warm. Her eyes told Adam that she was not joking around. This caught him off guard and as she noticed it, her eyes flashed with victory.

"Anyway. We need to sort out your clothing problem. We can't have you walking around in a morning gown and slippers all the time." Adam answered to change the subject. Holo grinned at him.

"But you would enjoy that, wouldn't you? I am not blind after all." Adam just shrugged in response. Holo seemed a bit annoyed by this.

"There were some clothes left behind by the Lawrence family. You could see if any of them are to your liking." Adam continued, ignoring the look Holo gave him. She know knew she got him, his eyes told as much.

The two moved onto the living room where Adam then brought the clothes for Holo to try on. Some of the clothes that were a bit damaged were thrown to the side in an instant. After about five minutes and dozens of clothes later, Holo's face lit up as she held up a light pink shirt with a red sash and black trousers. There was also a pair of brown shoes that Adam didn't even need to see to know that they fit her.

"Some privacy? I'm going to change now." Holo shot with a sing song voice to which Adam only nodded, ignoring the obvious face of disappointment she had when he didn't fluster.

A moment of shuffling later, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He took this as his cue to turn but her hands tightened their grip on him. "These clothes. They fit me perfectly, even having a hole for my tail. Not only that, but these are styled after my favorite clothes. I know my words don't mean much, but thank you. These clothes bring back memories."

Adam was completely stunned by her words. He had not expected her outburst of words and the genuine tone behind them.

"Gotcha."

"Huh?"

Adam was now lost even harder because of her tone. It had turned from a grateful one into a devious one. She was peeking at him from under his arm. Her eyes had an evil glint on them. Not long after he realized he had been tricked. Her acting had been so convincing that he totally fell for it.

"Anyway. What else do are we going to do? I got my clothes now but I still have nothing to hide my ears and tails with." Adam gave a pat on her head, causing her to pout and one of her ears to flick.

"That won't be a problem. If we find a headband for you, they will be mistaken for fake ears as long as you don't move them. Tail you can just have visible if you don't mind some people staring at you strangely." Holo seemed surprised. Adam then explained to her why people were so accepting.

"So the church has no power anymore and there are events where people put on fake ears and tails? In return that allows me to show mine?" Adam nodded at her questions, she now smiled which revealed her fangs. They were currently sitting on the couch before Holo sprang into action.

"Let's go then. I want to see how the world has changed. And fresh air wouldn't hurt either. It's been centuries since I smelled fresh air." Adam just gave a silent chuckle before grabbing his keys and jacket. He let Holo borrow one of his smaller jackets as it seemed to fit her surprisingly well.

Once they stepped outside, Holo stopped after couple of steps. She stood there, breathing deeply, the thought of the air being refreshing to her made Adam smile ever so slightly. For him it was not as fresh, since it had some pollution in it, but for her it must have been like fresh forest air.

"Ok, enough of breathing. Let's go. We have things to do." Adam called out after a minute as he was walking to his car. Holo ran after him but stopped as he opened the car door. Her suspicions were clear but Adam just hopped onto the driver seat before closing the door behind him. Holo seemed to hesitate for a moment before pulling open the passenger side door and hopping in, copying the movement from him.

"So this is what wagons have come to? Does it even need a horse?" She asked while letting her eyes wander. She was shaken out of her curiosity as Adam tapped her shoulder. He pointed at the belt like thing to her right before gesturing her to hand it to him. After a quiet click, the belt was attached over her, tying Holo to the chair.

"It's for your own safety. And no, there are no horses needed anymore." Adam explained as he turned the ignition key. The car whirred to life as Holo flinched from the sudden noise and movement. Her eyes darted to Adam but soon calmed down as he showed no reaction of panic. Her tail was resting on her lap, completely still.

"Relax. There is nothing to worry about. Think this as a wagon that is more enclosed and goes a bit faster. But it does get us around faster too." Holo only nodded slowly at his words. She was still tensed up, but at least she began looking out of the window.

The journey itself wasn't that long and they arrived at a mall's parking lot after couple of minutes. Usually Adam wouldn't go to a mall like this but he wanted to see Holo's reaction to such a place.

As they stepped inside, Holo's ears flattened from the amount of noise. Her tail was held by her hands and this created an image of a cos-player for her. Adam thanked their luck of one such event being held so close by. Even so, if someone from his school saw him now, he would not hear the end of this.

As Holo froze and began looking around, Adam decided to take the best course of action and linked his hand with hers. She glanced at him but did not pull away her hand away. Adam swore he saw a glint of gratefulness but wrote it off fast. This earned him a tighter grip from Holo.

"Let's go. We have to pick up some things before we head to the grocery store." Holo once again nodded and so, they were off. The two of them weaving through the huge crowd that flowed like a river from store to store. They headed to not one of the bigger stores or shops, but rather a small and older looking boutique. The store actually was there before the mall and was incorporated into it when the owner had refused to move. That owner was the father of the current owner, who also happened to be an old friend of Adam's.

"David! You got what I ordered?" Adam hollered once inside the store, his sudden loudness caused Holo to wince ever so slightly. Not missing this, he lowered his voice to more normal levels, back to what fitted his stoic face.

"Of course. I wouldn't have messaged you otherwise. Who is she?" Answered a man from behind the counter. He was quite well built and that image was supported by his hairstyle that was most popular in armies, a clean shave with almost no hair left to speak of.

"Her name is Holo. Turns out she was the true owner of the house I bought, even if the papers say otherwise. We will be doing a bit of shopping later." David nodded at this.

"Unknown relative, got it. Anyway. Here is what you asked me to get, a Colt Python.357 Magnum. I won't ask why you wanted one as it is none of my business. I know you well enough to trust you anyway. The case has the papers for it too." Now it was Adam's turn to nod as he took the silver case David handed him. Holo watched the exchange with a tilted head.

After the two had nodded once more, the duo left the boutique. It was strange to Holo, but it almost seemed that there was nothing for sale in the boutique. Once asked, Adam explained it was because the real purpose of the store was to get goods that were otherwise impossible to obtain. Only those who knew David, knew the real purpose though.

Holo then pointed to the silver case and asked what it was. Adam motioned her to lower her voice before leaning down to whisper. "While during your times, people carried knives and daggers. Now days while not out of fashion nor hard to get, those are outclassed by new weapons. The thing I got is a gun. I will show it to you in more detail once we are home but for now do not mention it. I don't think the shop owners would like me carrying it around like I am." Holo only nodded, understanding the true meaning of his words. Do not talk about it before we are back.

The shopping itself wasn't anything too interesting. Adam was pushing a shopping cart while sometimes retrieving an item or two from the shelves. He also found that apples, honey, peaches and some other ingredients that would be needed for baking. Holo of course acted like she knew nothing about this, but after taking a look onto what she had added, he could combine one plus one. She wanted to make an apple pie.

"You know you can ask if you want to make a pie. You don't have everything needed here." Holo pouted at his words before sighting.

"Fine. I wanted to make an apple pie, honey pickled peaches and some honey sweets. Happy?"

"Mhm" Adam hummed as he started adding more ingredients to the cart. Baking powder, some cream for whipped cream, sugar and other necessities that would be needed for what she wanted to create.

After paying, Adam was positively surprised as Holo had already packed everything to the bags they were handed by the store. She was smiling proudly while leaning onto the shopping cart, this smile turned into a face of panic as he cart began moving and she fell onto her back.

She sighted in annoyance before a hand entered her field of vision. She moved her eyes to the owner of the hand and was greeted by a grinning Adam. Once up, she lightly punched Adam's arm for enjoying her misfortune.

The trip back was much more relaxed than the first trip. Holo didn't expect the car to eat her and was actually now watching the view more keenly. Her gaze passed both urban scenes and after they left the city, a scene with open fields. The neighborhood where Adam lived was surrounded by fields as the terrain around it was unfit for building. The area had once been a mountainous area but had been flattened by the government long time ago. Holo's eyes flashed with anger for a moment once she heard it but soon just sighted. There was nothing she could do.

Once home, Holo almost bolted into the kitchen but was stopped by Adam. She had no idea how to use half of the ingredients he had bought and it was obvious that she had not cooked in a long time. So after the groceries had been unpacked, Adam whipped out a cookbook and handed it to Holo.

"Pages 37 for the apple pie, 89 for the pickling and 117 for the honey sweets. Follow the instructions and don't make too much of a mess." Holo nodded confidently as Adam left to do other stuff. He had to check the gun he had bough for any damage or dirt. While he trusted David, it was sill better to be careful and check it before use.

-II-

It had been about an hour when Adam began smelling the apple pie Holo was cooking. It was soon accompanied by the sweet aromas of her other cooking and not long after, Holo's head poked from the door.

"The pie is ready, do you want a piece?" Adam nodded and began getting up but was stopped by Holo.

"'Tis the gun you got? Seems harmless to me." Adam gave her a wry smile before picking up one of the bullets.

"The basic idea of the gun is to hurl the tip of this into another person or animal at speeds higher than eye can perceive and with enough force to tear through most things. Metal it does not pierce in most cases. It is an advanced slingshot in a way."

Holo eyed the gun with a bit more respect now. Her ears detected no lies so she had to believe him. After a moment, Adam set the revolver back into it's case before hiding it under his bead. Holo looked at him with an amused expression to which Adam responded with a shrug.

"Come now before I eat the whole thing myself. I already had a hard time not to eat it while I was making it."

"Your quite a glutton then, are you not?"

Holo giggled at his comment before ending the conversation with a single word.

"Fool"

**AN: I originally had only planned this fic to last only 10 chapters but I now decided to make it about 20. There are some things that I wanted to explore within this plot so I extend the fic to be able to do so.**

**I have nothing else to say.**

**Toland, out**


	4. Chapter 3: Wolf and a new routine

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Spice and Wolf nor it's characters. I do own the rights to the OC though.

**Note:** When the text is tilted, it is a flashback to something that has happened earlier.

**Chapter 3: **Wolf and a new routine

* * *

"_All men are jealous idiots. And women are stupid too, to feel happy about it. It's true, there are idiots everywhere!"_

_~Holo_

Holo was woken up by infernal beeping. She groaned as Adam turned to shut down the offending piece of technology. From all the things humanity had created during her absence, alarm clocks had to be at the bottom of the list. For Adam they were a necessity though as he needed to get up early for classes. He was attending the high school that was located nearby and as of late, Holo had begun attending it with him. She had reasoned it by not wanting to be alone, but in truth she had been curious about what it was.

* * *

_Holo was glaring at Adam, her tails swishing back and forth loudly. She had approached the subject but Adam had tried to question her decision._

"_I want to accompany you to this "high school" to see what all this fuzz is about. Do not try to change my mind about it."_

"_I am trying to point out that they will most likely treat you differently because of your appearance. Leaving your ears and tail out will only increase it. Some might even try and bully you for them. Not to mention you look young." There was concern in Adam's voice. Holo found it adorable that he was worrying for her._

"_I am sure that I can handle anything they might try and throw at me. If it helps, I can change my appearance to look older, but 'tis will be but an illusion." Adam nodded, resigned to his fate._

* * *

Holo got out of the bed, Adam doing the same on the other side. She had not let him sleep once on his own after she had entered his life. She noticed it herself too. She was being way more active while seeking closeness, this being but one of the many ways she made sure not to be alone at any given time for longer than ten minutes.

Adam had also learnt not to mention it, he did so once and his feet still ached from the brutal stomping Holo had distributed. While neither of them would admit it, to most it looked like they were like a couple. This was far from the truth though as neither of them really harbored any feelings for one another. Holo acted like this because it felt familiar and Adam let her act because it meant he was safe from her anger.

After a quick morning routine, Holo eating most of the breakfast while Adam only grabbed a rye bread piece and some coffee before bolting to start the car. Holo would take her time before joining him. The school had a strict dress code so it was impossible for her to hide her ears or tail due to the stereotypical school uniform. Adam had to admit that she looked good in it though.

Then there was the fact that instead of the look of a young girl around fifteen, she had changed her appearance to one of eighteen years of age. Her body looked more developed too. But this was all a clever ruse as the second they were out of sight, she would turn back into her normal self. She had explained that there was a danger of her getting stuck in it if she held the older form for too long. In theory it would overwrite her original human form.

As they arrived to the school building, many people gathered around Adams' car as he parked it. Turned out that his prediction had been correct, but in the opposite way. She had become very popular very fast. It seemed that people ignored her ears and tail for her slightly exotic look and vast wisdom. Couple of boys had also tried their chances with her, all getting burned or/and shot down by her. Her eyes of a mix of amber and crimson warning others not to try her. Adam had almost managed to avoid being dragged into it all. Almost meaning that he had been dragged into it once Holo mentioned her living with him. People made conclusions and now assumed that the two were together, she didn't deny it and had told Adam not to either. It was easier for her when everyone didn't try to woe her.

* * *

"_Do you actually mind that people think we are together?" Holo had asked, her head tilted._

"_Do you not?" Adam had shot back, the hidden message between his words clear._

"_Fool. I had over 500 years to mourn Lawrence's passing. If I decide to move on, it is my decision. Or would you rather see me mope around all day?" Holo's glare was burning with anger. If he was not careful now, his feet would pay the price._

"_Not what I meant and you know it. But aren't wolves monogamous?" Holo almost fell over laughing at his question._

"_Ah ha ha ha! You fool of a male! If you try to use fact about wolves against a wolf, at least get the whole fact correct. Wolves are monogamous, yes. But when one mate dies, a new one can be found. It is not like I would not move on after long enough. Do not worry. I know what I am doing. I'm Holo the Wisewolf after all."_

_Adam sighted "That is what I fear..."_

* * *

Returning to the current moment, Adam's car was surrounded by people by the time it was parked. There was a flock forming the second Holo stepped out of the car, her looking every bit a high school student as one could with a wolf tail and wolf ears. Like her original human form, she was beautiful by any standard, her hair long and flowing behind her, her features no longer being one of a young maiden's but of a woman that could become a model and be successful if they wished. Holo however played the humble card and acted quite meekly, trying to deflect any praise she got and acting a bit shyly. She kept close to Adam, many times almost hanging from his arm while leaning onto him. This had caused the rest of the boys to leave her alone, but also ignore Adam as usual. To him. This was better than being a center of attention.

As Holo tried to move through the flock of students that gathered around her, Adam casually strolled from the car to the main entrance of the school, Holo shooting him a betrayed look to which he answered with a shrug. It was her problem to which he could do nothing about. They would meet at the classroom anyway as they had the same schedule for the most part. The only difference was that Adam had the dance course while Holo had nothing. She would come and watch him dance during that time though so technically she had it too.

"Alright class. Today we will be continuing the group assignments. Please note that the deadline is today." The teacher droned on while Adam and Holo already got to work. Holo had only needed a quick reminder on how to write and read before being able to do so naturally. She had learned those skills long ago but hadn't kept them up for the time she was within the wheat.

The semester was about to end too. This meant that when Holo had decided to join Adam about two weeks ago, most of the group work and assignments needed to be handed over fast. She had luckily been excused from the more challenging tasks as she came in late. There had been some paperwork to be done but she had been allowed in, even if the semester was ongoing.

* * *

"_Now write this form and this form. Then you need to get this signed and this to the ministry of education. And these need to be filled as well..." The headmaster kept going on about everything she needed to do. She had no idea that accompanying Adam to school would require this much work. _

"_Then there is the question of your age. Are you over 18?" Holo smiled at this._

"_You could say that..."_

* * *

Next up was the dance course. Adam looked around for his designated partner like usual but could not find her. Usually she was around before Adam so it was odd. He went to check his phone and his face quickly turned sour. While Holo knew why, she still asked.

"What happened?"

"Seems like she decided to go with someone else. She switched courses to match their new partner's schedule. This means that I will have no partner to go to the prom with." Adam sighted before starting to pack his stuff. Holo looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you doing?"

"Packing. There is no point being here if I have no partner to dance with." Holo's ears flattened in silent anger before she calmly walked over to him and literally jumped on his feet until he fell over in a mix of pain and surprise.

"What was that for?!" Adam groaned while Holo kept glaring at him.

"You are not this dense usually. Do I have to spell it for you?"

"Oh."

"Oh! You were trying to refer that you would be my partner? Is that it?" Holo just smiled before handing Adam her hand.

"You jest. Surely even you aren't that dense." She scoffed. Adam rubbed the back of his head apologetically.

"Well it wasn't my first thought. I thought it would make the rumors stronger than they already are."

"Fool."

The two walked then walked into the school's gymnasium that was used for the course. It was a mandatory course for everyone at some point so they needed a large space to dance in. The teacher glanced at the two before nodding and marking their names down on the clipboard he had. Holo could tell that he crossed a name before writing a new one and guessed he marked down the change in pairs.

There were murmurs going around once Holo too her place on Adam's right side but it fell quiet as the teacher began talking.

"Alright people, listen up. Today I will try to teach you dimwits the Jailhouse Rock. Some of you may already know how to dance is. If so, congratulations. This will be easy for you. Now, form two circles. Chop chop!" The teacher's voice boomed in the big space. Everyone quickly formed a large circle before dividing it in two to form two separate ones.

"I still wonder what caused her to act like she did. We were dancing quite well and she hadn't acted like this before. It's sudden if nothing else." Adam pondered, voice just above whispering. Holo of course still heard him.

She answered with a shrug.

* * *

_It had been a week since Holo had begun attending classes. She still hated the dance class the most. That girl who Adam called a partner kept trying to flirt with him. Luckily for him, he was too dense to realize it. Random touches, playing with hair or a smile here and there were too subtle for the fool to notice._

_Her glare was fixed onto the girl and it hardened every time she made a hint. It was obvious at this point that he did not notice them, so she must be doing to agitate her. She would need to talk to the girl later about entering the territory of others…_

* * *

"I have no idea. But do not mull over such bothersome things." Adam nodded at her.

"Your right. Let's just focus on dancing right now." Holo nodded as the music began playing.

As the music stopped, both were panting slightly. The dance was more demanding that it looked and after the third time, it was starting to become taxing. Panting slightly, Adam and Holo were leaning on one another as they caught their breath. Luckily the teacher was aware of the students' situation and the next dance was a slower one.

While they were dancing slowly, Holo pulled Adam closer to her as she secretly lead the dance. It was one of the oldest dances the school had and she knew the dance it took off from. As such she could dance it well. She rested her head on his shoulder as the dance continued.

As the music stopped, Holo's eyes fluttered open. For some reason most people were staring at them and there was a huge void of people around them.

"Well you two sure seemed to enjoy yourselves." The teacher remarked with a smile, the couple's response being a shrug as the class ended.

The lunch hour was a hectic one. As Holo and Adam entered the cafeteria, Holo had her fans trying to wave her over, while Adam calmly walked into one of the quieter spots within the cafeteria. Usually Holo could not escape the group's grasp and had to dine with them, leaving Adam to dine by himself and it seemed that it would be the case for today as well.

As Adam calmly sat there, eating at a reasonable pace, he heard shuffling beside him. Not looking, he kept eating, fastening his pace a bit.

"You will choke if you keep that up. That would be bad, would it not?"

Adam was surprised to say the least. It was Holo. He glanced around and noticed that the group that usually followed her was whispering among themselves while stealing glances at the two.

"What happened? Usually you couldn't escape them." Holo sighted tiredly.

"They tried to poke fun at how we danced. Kept teasing about us being a couple and kept asking personal questions. I told them I had better people to entertain." Adam chuckled.

"Let me guess. They made their own conclusions?" Holo nodded and giggled.

"Fools." Both said in unison. Before bursting into light laughter

* * *

_Holo was deep in thought. She had not thought about romance after Lawrence and had thought she never would. That was until she met Adam. He was nice, in a way that Lawrence wasn't. Lawrence was nice by person or pleasant when needed. Adam was nice in a different way. While he seemed to have a cruel side and it mostly showed in his way of seeing the world, Adam also tried to live by a rule._

"_Our existence is short. We should make the best out of it. We should create memories that we can look fondly back into. Worse thing than death is to lose your memories. That is a true hell for both the person and the people around them."_

_Those were the words Adam had spoken when she had asked about his view on life. His words had touched her. She knew the importance of memories better than anyone after all._

* * *

Adam was currently being held on a lap against his will. Holo had insisted that he would use her as a pillow, and when Adam had refused, she had forced him. Her stare was persuasive and her stomping skills even more so.

Currently they were in Adam's room, out of sight of everyone else and as such, Holo had returned to her original form. Her fluffy tail, that Adam still wasn't allowed to touch, was moving slowly and soothingly back and forth on his stomach. She had demanded that he kept his hands away from it though.

"You know this wasn't necessary right?" Holo peered at him with half closed eyes.

"It's time that I start leaving my scent on you. To mark my territory." Adam gave a deep sight as he realized something.

"You planned the dance thing, didn't you? You kept glaring at her whenever she made an attempt to flirt." Shock flashed on Holo's face before she managed to hide it.

"Fool. If you noticed it, you could have made an attempt to stop it." Her voice had a tinge of blame.

"I tried. She continued in an attempt to annoy you. That is why I didn't react at all."

Holo's tail slapped his face gently as she huffed before pulling both of them under the covers.

"Fool."

* * *

**AN:** Next chapter will be a bit irregular. I have to gather my thoughts and plans on this fic as some ideas I had escaped me. It is also the reason the telling in this one is what it is. I am testing new things and the skip of time was necessary for the story.

Toland out.


End file.
